ClanLess
by Teyalora
Summary: He is a healer who can save any cat, but can he save his apprentice from his dreams?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Running throughout the forest showed me what I had at first missed; this forest and all its parts didn't exist beyond a certain point of reality. I slowed, but didn't stop, and that was my first mistake. I hissed as I ran up against a barrier of crackling fire that was unseeable but still burned my fur. Hissing, I jumped and landed in the midst of another dream. Here, I was not only running, but was being chased by twolegs with fire. As they caught up with me, they began to burn me and I was in torment. I then fell into another dream…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The medicine cat.**

Waking from the dream that I had been trying to escape from, I pulled myself from the ground and out from the pile of moss and willow sap that I had fallen asleep in. I wondered what had woken me, but not for long. The yowling minds of the apprentices told me the full story from outside the den. Someone had managed to hurt themselves beyond what a normal 'clan' cat could fix. I groaned and pulled my aching bones from the floor of my hollow, and scenting the air got the strangest scent that I had ever smelled, though it was Windclan. Usually Windclan would only send warriors to converse with me, but it seemed that they had sent younger cats. Or maybe, I mused, they weren't supposed to be here in the first place. _"Come"_ I sent to their minds_, "I cannot do anything with you out there, hidden from my senses."_ I felt the confusion in their minds, but it slowly fizzled out as they recalled old stories of me being one of the old race, and on top of that, deaf. I knew that there was going to be a reckoning as I tried to heal the injured apprentice. I sat with my tail wrapped around my paws and waited.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Rinnapaw**

The little ones slowly staggered into my den, carrying a fifth apprentice with them. "This" he yelped, "Is Rinnapaw. Can you help her, or is it too late?" I simply sat and looked at him. After a few moments, the apprentices realized that they really were talking to a deaf cat, and began to pant in terror.

"_Yes"_ I finally sent, and felt their elation that I had understood what they had said. They had not realized that there was a price for healing, and, I imagined, they would not be willing to pay. Rinnapaw was stirring, and I realized that she was more sensitive than most to others plights. I walked to her, and in a moment knew, she would have to stay as my apprentice, she had no choice. I walked to the Windclan apprentices and told them _"I will heal her"_ they began to become excited, and though one of the apprentices began to say "This will all be..." I interrupted him _"For a price."_ The apprentices now looked wary, and I knew that there was no way that they would believe that Rinnapaw had agreed to become my apprentice unless she told them herself. I went to the injured cat and began my vigil, finding her injuries, the torn ligaments, the broken bones, and began to heal the scrap of fur. The apprentices were still jumpy, but I realized that all their fears could probably be stopped with a simple statement. _"The price you must pay for this cat's life is an apprenticeship"_ They looked at me with terror, but the terror subsided as Rinnapaw woke. "Rin!" One of the apprentices squealed "You're ok!" the celebrations were tempered with fear, though, a fear Rinnapaw could feel. "Thank you, my friends" she said "But now you must go and tell the leader that I must become the apprentice of the Old Forest cat." Shock met her words, and the apprentices minds were thrown into chaos. "Y-yes, Rinnapaw" one of the apprentices finally said "We-we'll tell the leader." I went over to the shelf that doubled as my bed and sat down, waiting for them to leave. I sat and watched my new apprentice nose her way around my den, knowing that, if she survived, she would eventually become at peace with her surroundings as I had. The mottled grey and orange cat that was my apprentice was something of a mystery. I knew her name was Rinnapaw, but I didn't know who she was or what she had trained for. _"Rinnapaw"_ I sent _"Come here."_ She stopped sniffing and meekly made her way towards me with a look of slight dread on her face. Knowing the effect of first impressions, I did my best to turn my sightless eyes to her face, hoping that I could comfort her. I smelled her fear-scent as she faced the scars that embraced my body, the very ones my master had given me. I knew that she would spend her days as I had, learning to accept what must be. As I finally listened to the thoughts in her head, I was shocked by how calm she seemed to be in the face of the unknown, something none of my other apprentices had even come close to matching. I smelled her fear, heard her mind, and simply knew, she was descended from the Old Ones, and she had the purest blood I had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Speech**

The little one who had become my apprentice was sleeping, and as I looked down on her form, I hoped she had enough strength to get through her training, both the basic, and the later training, where she gets her first scar. I knew she could stand the little white scar that would forever mark her muzzle, but wondered how she would feel about the scars that came with healing. I watched until the dawn left the sky, and moved to wake my exhausted new apprentice, who wouldn't be sleeping very much in the days to come. Old Ones only needed to sleep after a great terror, traumatic healing, or great battle, none of which I saw any more. There were no half-starved cats fighting for their existence any more, only the well-fed clans, sure of their superiority and truth. There were four clans, they said, and only four. There had only been four, and if you thought there were five, maybe Starclan was that fifth clan, but another living clan? Impossible. Their limited views hadn't even begun to incorporate in the Old Ones, and I wondered if they would ever think about the origins of their very 'clans.' I sighed. This was yet another thing I needed to teach my new apprentice. I shook her with my paws, and spoke to her mind, jolting her awake. _"Little one, please, we must begin."_ I told her, hoping she would understand. Though t took a little while, she answered back _"Starting now?"_ into my mind. I jumped, and immediately sent _"You may speak, I can understand you, you know."_ Embarrassed, she shuffled her paws and gave her chest a small lick, laying her slightly ruffled fur flat. We then began her training.


End file.
